This Spicy Butternut Squash Pasta is everything a festive, fall dish should be. The creamy butternut squash sauce is luscious with the perfect kick from the subtle hint of Calabrian chiles. The crispy rosemary maple bacon not only adds the ideal crunch but also fills your house with the very best scent while it crisps. Plan to make this delicious pasta when hosting friends or if you want a cozy bowl of pasta to curl up with on the couch on any night of the week.
If you try this recipe, I’d love to see how it turns out! Tag me on Instagram @thepurpleplate_ or on TikTok @thepurpleplate and hashtag #thepurpleplate!
INGREDIENTS
Spicy Butternut Squash Sauce
2 bags pre-chopped butternut squash (See note #1)
4 cloves garlic
1/2 cup grated pecorino romano
1 tbsp Calabrian Chile paste
1 tbsp pumpkin seeds
1/4 cup water
4 tbsp butter, separated (you will melt half and reserve the other half to toss with the sauce before serving)
Salt and pepper to taste
1 lb pasta
Rosemary Maple Bacon
1 pack of bacon of choice
1 tbsp maple syrup
2 sprigs of rosemary, leaves removed and finely chopped (See note #2)
INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and prepare a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Lay the bacon slices evenly across the pan and roast plain for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and drizzle with maple syrup and sprinkle with the chopped rosemary. Crisp in the oven for another 10 minutes (see note #3). Allow the bacon to fully cool and then chop into small bits. Set aside.
Next make the pasta sauce by setting a steamer over medium high heat (see note #4). Once the water has come to a boil, add chopped squash and whole garlic cloves to the steamer basket. Cover and steam for 10 minutes or until squash is fork tender.
While the squash and garlic steam, boil a pot of heavy salted water and cook pasta according to package instructions. Save about 1 cup of pasta water.
Add steamed squash, garlic, pecorino Romano, Calabrian chile paste, pumpkin seeds, water, and 2 tablespoons of melted butter to a blender. Blend (vented) until smooth (see note #5). Taste and season with salt pepper as needed.
Strain pasta (again, remember to reserve about 1 cup of pasta water before draining). Put noodles back to the pot you cooked them in and add the spicy butternut squash sauce setting over medium heat. Add some reserved pasta water and remaining 2 tablespoons of butter and toss the pasta until a glossy sauce forms and clings well to the noodles. Add more pasta water as needed (I needed almost the entire cup).
Divide the pasta into bowls and sprinkle with the crispy rosemary maple bacon bits. Serve and enjoy!
RECIPE NOTES
I loathe peeling and chopping butternut squash so this recipe calls for pre-chopped squash from the store. You don’t get a medal for doing it the hard way, but you do you. If you opt for using a whole squash, grab a medium sized one from the store and be sure to peel, spoon out the seeds, and chop into small cubes.
To easily remove rosemary leaves, simply grab the top of the steam and use your other hand to pull the leaves down in a swift motion off the steam. This is shown in a clip on the video I shared!
Keep a close eye on the second roast as the sugar in the maple syrup will cause the bacon to brown quite quickly! Depending on how your oven usually cooks you might need less than 10 minutes for optimal crispiness.
I like to use the Our Place Always Pan for this recipe, but you can also use a classic steamer pot set up if that’s what you have on hand.
Simply hold a dish towel over the hole on the top of your blender while allowing some steam out while you blend. This prevents a butternut squash explosion.
